Bishop Calls For Unity After Pro-Trump Vandalism In Md.
SILVER SPRING, Md. (AP) — The head of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington is calling on President-elect Donald Trump and his supporters "to separate themselves from acts of violence and hate" after a church in a Maryland suburb with a strong Latino population was vandalized with a racist message that mentions Trump.
Church officials say a banner advertising the Spanish-language service at the Episcopal Church of Our Saviour in Silver Spring was slashed Saturday night and the words "Trump nation. Whites only" were written on the back. The same phrase was written on a brick wall in the memorial garden of the parish.
According to the Diocese, however, after that service on Sunday, "people of the church poured out the door and wrote messages of love on the sidewalks and driveway."
"Within just a few minutes, passers-by could see that Church of Our Saviour was the beautiful place it had always been. Love won. Chalk helped."
Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde called for unity following Sunday services. She says she doesn't want immigrants and people of color "to imagine that this is who we are as a nation."
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